Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Rose Bowl 2010: Oregon 17 - Ohio State 26

Trafton B.

January 3, 2010 - 3:55 PM

That was one heckuva a weekend. The final score wasn't exactly what we were all hoping for, obviously, but we were still in Pasadena for New Year's 2010 watching our Ducks and you can't take that away from us. I still spent a weekend full of memories with my roommates and friends. It wasn't all bad.

To start it off, on the drive down to Southern California, we saw unlimited Oregon fans - big RVs with yellow and green pom-poms in windows and cars with flags flying proudly all the way down I-5. There was at least one car full of Ducks fans at every gas station or pit stop along the way. The attendance at In N' Out Burgers was overwhelmingly in favor of Oregon. My roommates and I even saw a police cruiser with a stuffed Oregon Duck in the back window. The Oregon Ducks' faithful were out in full force.

 The one thing that took me by surprise was that anyone wearing green and yellow was treated like royalty in Pasadena - probably because the locals are sick of seeing USC fans for the past eight years. The hotel staff was giving us "Go Ducks" cheers all day on Thursday. We hung an "Oregon Football Lives Here" pennant on our balcony and just about anyone that saw it as they walked past either gave us a thumbs up or flashed the "O" above their heads if they knew the protocol. The owner of the Burger Continental, where we had lunch, came out to see our group of thirteen people to wish our team good luck. Plus, we got some complimentary baklava out of the deal. Thanks, Harry.
Then Friday morning rolled around a little early with the fire alarm going off around 7:30AM, much to the dismay of everyone sprawled on the floor of our hotel room. All were relieved when we remembered that we get to walk over to watch the "Granddaddy of Them All." On the walk over, we passed by Colorado Street, where the Rose Parade had gone on earlier that day. We didn't get ready in time to see the actual parade, but the place looked like a war zone when we passed through, so we weren't all that disappointed. I know I'll be back at some point in time, too. But back to the walk.

I thought Eugene was fun on Gameday, but Pasadena puts us to shame. There we people cheering from a mile out, most likely in all directions. The Rose Bowl parking lot has a special area for motor homes to tailgate. It was nuts! Red Ohio State sweatshirts were clashing amidst our own yellow and green. Then we pushed our way into the gates and through the tunnel to the field whilst hearing half the stadium chant either "O H - I O" or "Let's go Ducks!" I'll try to get some videos to show you all.
I won't talk about the game for obvious reasons, but also because I was almost too busy soaking up the atmosphere to watch the game closely. I was particularly impressed with the Ohio State fans. The crowd totaled around 93,000 and I would guesstimate that it was 60% Buckeye fans, which means 60% of the stadium was solid red. Their band is amazing! All of their cheers were coordinated throughout the stadium. And they were very cordial to us sullen Duck fans after the game was over. Clearly experience played a roll - on the field and in the stands. All I can say in response is . . . next year.

So, we drove the entire way from Pasadena to Eugene (approx. 850 miles) on Saturday, and a disheartened 14 hours later we made it home. We measured that the benefits of having a full day to switch gears back to school life was worth it. We saw just about as many Duck fans on the way home, and everyone seemed to rep their Duck Pride, albeit less enthusiastic than before. We all still love our ducks, and we all look forward to next year. It was fun while it lasted.

 Oregon stuffed animal in back window of Cruiser